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| Clockwise from top left, offstage swing Lily Burke, Dewey Finn alternate Liam Fennecken, and offstage swings Duke Cutler, Cooper Alexis and Nakita Clarke of the international tour production of the musical "School of Rock" in Seoul pose for a photo during an interview with The Korea Times at the Charlotte Theater in southern Seoul, Thursday. Courtesy of Lee Soo-jin |
By Kwon Mee-yoo
The Andrew Lloyd Webber musical "School of Rock" arrived in Seoul in June and it has been teaching rock to audiences here.
Based on the 2003 film of the same name, the musical tells the story of struggling rock musician Dewey Finn who stumbles into the shoes of a substitute teacher at a prestigious prep school and liberates his class by turning the teacher's pets into a rock band.
The magic of rock is conveyed by the eccentric musician-turned-teacher and 12 young actors who rock out onstage, playing the instruments live every show. Though not seen every night, there are four multi-talented offstage swings, who understudy multiple roles to make sure the show can go on in case of emergency.
Dewey Finn alternate Liam Fennecken and the four child swings ― Cooper Alexis, Lily Burke, Nakita Clarke and Duke Cutler ― sat down for an interview with The Korea Times before propagating the rock 'n' roll spirit at the Charlotte Theater in southern Seoul, Thursday.
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| Liam Fennecken, who plays rocker-turned-teacher Dewey Finn in the musical "School of Rock," speaks during an interview with The Korea Times at the Charlotte Theater in southern Seoul, Thursday. Courtesy of Lee Soo-jin |
Fennecken performs three shows a week, alternating the goofy rocker-teacher with Conner John Gillooly.
"I love the movie. I love Jack Black and he is one of my favorite actors. I got to see School of Rock on Broadway on opening night. Seeing Alex Brightman, the original Dewey Finn, running around, jumping, playing with the kids and singing high, it looked like a lot of fun. [I thought] It is definitely something that I would probably be good at, so ever since I saw the show I wanted to do the role," Fennecken said.
So he auditioned for the show and was in the first U.S. tour with an adult ensemble cast where he understudied Dewey.
"When I heard that the production was coming to Korea, I talked to the director to throw my name in for it just in case. Eventually, they asked me to be the alternate Dewey and I jumped at the chance and here we are," Fennecken said.
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| Duke Cutler plays guitarist Zack Mooneyham in "School of Rock." Courtesy of S&Co |
Most of the child cast come from Australia, but Cutler ― who covers all six male roles including guitarist Zack, keyboardist Lawrence and drummer Freddie ― is from Los Angeles and was also a swing in the Broadway production.
The amazingly talented 10-year-old started learning guitar at four, piano at five and the drums at six. "But I've been playing since I can walk," Cutler said.
The young musician didn't mind crossing from the West Coast to the East, even flying over the Pacific to take part in "School of Rock."
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| Duke Cutler, an offstage swing who covers all six male roles including guitarist Zack, keyboardist Lawrence and drummer Freddie in the musical "School of Rock," speaks during an interview with The Korea Times at the Charlotte Theater in southern Seoul, Thursday. Courtesy of Lee Soo-jin |
"I started auditioning for the show in L.A. There was an open call in Hollywood and there was like 5,000 kids, auditioning for either the national tour or the Broadway. I was auditioning and auditioning and auditioning and they told me I didn't get it. I was pretty sad, but I got about it and moved on. And then a week later, they said 'Never Mind. Scratch whatever we said. Please come to New York in a month if you can to do the show.' I was so happy," he recalled.
The Broadway production closed on Jan. 20 and Cutler moved back to L.A.
"I went to New York to visit and when I was in my New York hotel room, one of our directors called and said 'Do you want to do the show in Korea?'," Cutler said. "I love the show, so if there's any opportunity to do the show again, I'm so going to say yes. And I always wanted to travel the world, so it was a great opportunity for that too."
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| Lily Burke, an offstage swing who covers bassist Katie, road manager Sophie and backup singers Marcy and Shonelle in the musical "School of Rock," speaks during an interview with The Korea Times at the Charlotte Theater in southern Seoul, Thursday. Courtesy of Lee Soo-jin |
Burke, 13, covers bassist Katie, road manager Sophie and backup singers Marcy and Shonelle.
"In 2016, I saw the show in the U.K. and thought it was really cool. So I was like, 'If there is an audition for it, I want to audition for the show.' My mom found an audition for this international tour and I learnt bass and auditioned."
It was not easy to start a new musical instrument, but Burke said it was definitely worth it. "Before I was okay at bass, but now I really love it and (the show's rock coach Sam Hall) inspired me to love bass even more. Now I want to play more bass," Burke said.
Even though they are not guaranteed to be onstage every show, the swing quartet are committed to their responsibility with much pride.
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| Cooper Alexis, an offstage swing who covers drummer Freddie, stylist Billy, security James and technician Mason in the musical "School of Rock," speaks during an interview with The Korea Times at the Charlotte Theater in southern Seoul, Thursday. Courtesy of Lee Soo-jin |
Alexis, 12, who covers four boy roles including drummer Freddie, stylist Billy, security James and technician Mason, first aimed for the drummer role, but landed a swing position instead.
"I was over the moon (when I passed the audition). From getting a swing, I was a bit confused what it was. But on the first day of rehearsals, they explained what it is and made us feel so special," Alexis said.
Clarke, 12, plays band manager Summer in addition to three girls Sophie, Marcy and Shonelle.
"When I got the role, I was ecstatic, jumping with joy. And I was thinking about what it meant [to be a swing] ― I kinda knew what it was and kinda didn't. But once the rehearsals started and they explained everything, I thought 'This is so cool. I not only get to play one but multiple characters,'" Clarke said.
Burke agreed that it is cool to be a swing. "Doing different characters is really cool because you are not only get to be in one character, but you get to be four or six people and see more than one perspective of the show," Burke said.
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| Nakita Clarke, an offstage swing who covers band manager Summer, road manager Sophie and backup singers Marcy and Shonelle in the musical "School of Rock," speaks during an interview with The Korea Times at the Charlotte Theater in southern Seoul, Thursday. Courtesy of Lee Soo-jin |
In the international tour production in Seoul, the kid swings have some scheduled shows, which are announced at the beginning of the week, but they still have to be ready for sudden changes and be on standby at the theater even if they don't go on stage.
"We had to go on quite a few times in the middle of the show. One of the most last-minute one was in the middle of the song Teacher's Pet and I had to run down and dress for Shonelle, which was really exciting but it's also sad for my friend. But it is what our job is like," Clarke said.
Alexis also had to replace another cast during the show.
"It was intermission on someone's birthday. They said 'Cooper, we need you to go on for James,' and I had 10 minutes to get ready. Three people were working on me ― the mike, the hair and the dresses ― and I got ready in time, shoving cake into mouth," Alexis said.
Fennecken said it is not as different as people would think to work with young cast in the show.
"All these guys are professionals who are really good at their jobs. They have saved my butt on stage multiple times when something goes wrong. In terms of the actual show, it's pretty much the same. Outside the show, I'm kind of a big child and we like a lot of the same things ― going to theme parks and making silly jokes," Fennecken said. "We're just like a big family and they are my little brothers and sisters."
As they spend time and tour around the city, they are getting to know more about Korean culture. Fennecken is a big fan of K-pop sensation BTS and even put up their photos in his dressing room.
"I was a fan before and it didn't have anything to do with me coming here," Fennecken said. "I just like K-pop. The music is really fun and positive and happy. In terms of BTS in particular, watching them dance is mind-blowing. It's a pop culture phenomenon. It is really cool to see a boy band out of Korea made it big in the U.S. and all around the world. How would you not be excited about that?"
"It would be so cool if they come and watch the show," Alexis said, and everyone enthusiastically agreed.
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| A scene from the musical "School of Rock" Courtesy of S&Co |
Just like the characters in the show who matured after meeting Dewey, the child actors grew with School of Rock.
"For me, School of Rock changed the way I look on, listen to and breathe music," Cutler said. "It changed my perspective on it and how I think of it."
Alexis said there are so many lessons in the show. "It is hard to say or think all of them. It just taught us so much in the things we do, but also gave life lessons. All these different people come together to produce an amazing show. It changes the choices you make."
And the adults were no exception. "For me, and most of the other adults in the cast, working on this show in particular is such a great reminder of why we chose to do what we do. If you are having a bad day or exhausted, you come in to work with these kids who are 100 percent stoked and absolutely excited and ecstatic to be able to tell the story on stage," Fennecken said.
"And the show itself is about being able to do what you love and accepting people for doing what they love. It is also super inspiring to see a 10-year-old shredding in your face."
The musical runs through Aug. 25 in Seoul and then travels to the Dream Theater in Busan from Sept. 1 to 15 and Keimyung Art Center in Daegu from Sept. 21 to 29. The show is performed in English with Korean subtitles.
